WARNING:
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted
work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced
electronically or in print without written permission, except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This
is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are
fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations,
or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

I’d
like to dedicate this to my mother-in-law, Barb. Even though she’s
not a reader, she’s been following along with this series and
giving me praise. Thank you for the support! And if I know her at
all, she’ll cry after reading this. She’s such a softie.

Prologue

You know that story
about the girl who pricks her finger on a spinning wheel—who the
heck actually has one of those anymore—and falls into a deep, deep
sleep? Well, I’m that girl. Only the events in that tale have been
grossly under-exaggerated. It wasn’t a spinning wheel. It was a
freaking sword. And it didn’t prick my finger. It stabbed directly
into my side.

See what I mean
about it being under-exaggerated? Though I must admit the added part
about the evil witch who cast a curse on me was amusing. There was no
evil witch. Or curse. Just an idiot with a sword.

My name is Talia,
and I am the cousin of the Prince of Esteria. I’m a “proper lady”
who lives inside the castle. I spend my days curtsying and learning
which fork is proper to use in a salad. As if anyone cares about such
things.

While other kids of
Esteria attended school like regular teenagers, I was stuck in
private lessons with a personal tutor in the same stuffy room, year
after year, one floor down from my chambers. It was boring and
monotonous. I was like a hermit, hidden away from the world.

All of that changed
with one fateful thrust of a sword … and a stolen kiss.

Well, I don’t want
to go and give everything away. You’ll just have to read on to hear
the rest of the story—the true story of Sleeping Beauty.

Chapter One

I was trying so hard
to listen to Sir Wilas Conlan as he enthusiastically spoke of the
Great Goblin Civil War, but it had happened nearly two hundred years
ago and I was losing my battle to stay conscious. Propping my chin up
with my fist, I blinked rapidly in an attempt to fight back sleep.
Had I even one other student in here with me to instill me with a
sense of comradery, I might have survived. But alas, I was a member
of the royal family. Things were done differently for us. I couldn’t
attend school with the rest of the youths of Esteria. I had special
things to learn that went hand-in-hand with ruling. Not that I would
ever rule Esteria. That honor would go to my cousin Edward when his
father so chose. And if something were to happen to Edward, the crown
would pass to our cousin Leonce. And then to his
younger brother. I was so far down the list, I wasn’t sure if I
even counted as royalty anymore.

Suddenly, my hand
shot into the air. “Can I be excused?” At Wilas’s shocked
expression and raised brows, I quickly added, “Just for a moment. I
need to use the washroom.”

Wilas let out a
put-upon sigh I’d grown more than used to over the years and waved
a dismissive hand in the air. “Yes. Yes. But I want you to think
about the goblin rulers while you’re there. Upon your return, I
expect an oral report on their clashing views and the incident that
sent the Great War into motion.”

Scurrying to my
feet, I gave a little curtsy before darting out of the room. With
irritation, I thought about how I couldn’t even tinkle without
getting an assignment. It truly wasn’t fair.

I ducked into the
hallway, feeling the tension ease out of my shoulders more and more
with each step I got farther away from my classroom. Instead of
heading into the washroom, I padded in my flats down to the end of
the hall. There, tucked away, was a set of French doors that opened
up onto a wide, stone balcony that ran the length of the outside of
the castle. I could get to nearly anywhere from here. It was like a
tiny bit of freedom dangled in front of my nose.

I rushed to the
front of the balcony and pressed my palms flat to the stone railing,
staring out over the kingdom. A fresh breeze lifted my hair, giving
me a moment of liberty. What I wouldn’t give to spread a pair of
wings and soar off of the side of this castle, to escape from it all.
“Oh, if only I could get away for a little while.”

“And why would you
want that, Princess?”

I gasped and spun
toward the voice, my heart pounding in my throat, but upon seeing the
owner, my shoulders relaxed. “Court, I didn’t see you there.”

Court Abrams worked
in the castle. His mother was a cook, and he’d taken up a job after
school, helping her in the kitchens following his graduation last
year. He was a chubby boy, but I had always found him kind of cute.

He shifted his
weight as he peered at me through watery blue eyes. “I will never
be able to understand your need to be out there,” he said with a
disgusted wave of his hand to the kingdom below, “when you could be
here, with your private tutors and fancy lunches.”

I laughed lightly at
this and rolled my eyes good-naturedly. “I’d give up all the
gourmet hot cocoa in the world to attend school like a regular
teenager. It’s boring here.”

He shook his head at
this. “High school is hell, princess. Plain and simple. You don’t
appreciate the nice setup you’ve got going on here. Though it’s
just like the royal family to take their privileges for granted.”

Something about the
way he said princess
struck a nerve in me even before he’d gotten to the more insulting
parts of his retort. He was usually polite, sometimes submissive and
quiet. The attitude I’d just received was very unlike him. “What’s
gotten into you?”

Feeling the tension
in the atmosphere, I took a retreating step, my back hitting the
railing behind me. “I’m sorry to hear that.” I glanced
nervously over my shoulder at the significant drop that ended in a
watery moat below. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to be heading
back to lessons.”

Straightening my
shoulders, I went to push around him, but Court grabbed hold of my
upper arm as I tried to pass.

“I don’t think
so.”

My eyes widened in
disbelief. “Get your hands off me,” I said, my tone giving away
my anger. “You could find yourself in a cell for such a
transgression.”

“Not if I’m not
caught, I won’t.” His hand moved to his belt and he whipped
something out of a hilt. A flash of silver told me it was a sword.

I barely had time to
open my mouth before the steel was thrust into my side. There was no
time to holler for help, no time to even scream.

Court leaned
forward, a nasty smile on his lips. “Ogress sends her love.”
Yanking his sword back, he brought a foot up and planted it in my
chest. With one quick shove, he kicked me backward over the railing.

A scream finally did
burst past my lips as blue sky filled my vision. I tumbled through
the air, hurtling toward the moat below. Then my back hit the
surface, and I was enveloped by the murky water. Court’s face
smiling down at me from the balcony above as the water closed over me
was the last thing I saw before I blacked out.

Chapter Two

“Come on! Come
on!”

Consciousness slowly
returned to me as I was lowered to a firm surface. The prickly
feeling against my palms told me it was grass, but I was so weak I
couldn’t open my eyes to see exactly where. I could feel my hair
clinging wetly to my face like slimy tentacles of some oceanic beast,
further obscuring my senses.

The owner of the
voice pressed two fingers to my neck and leaned over me. I could feel
his breath hot on my face. After a moment, with a sound of relief, he
said, “She’s breathing.” He shifted back, gently shaking my
shoulder. “Are you all right?”

All I could manage
was a weak groan.

“Yeah, you’re
all right,” he said with amusement in his voice. A moment passed,
and he let out a troubled breath. “You’ve put me in a tight
predicament, Princess.” With gentle fingers, he clawed my hair away
from my face, pulling it out of my eyes. “Here comes the Royal
Guard. I believe one of the cleaning staff saw you fall past her
window. They weren’t quick enough to pull you out of that
disgusting moat,” he said darkly, “but they were quick enough to
swoop in and play the heroes who returned you to the castle.”

I groaned again,
trying to flutter my eyes open to look at him. My eyelids were so
dreadfully heavy, though.

I heard him give a
sound of obvious uncertainty. Then he said, “Screw it.” I felt
his fingers slip under my neck, and he lifted my chin up. An instant
later, his lips pressed to mine.

I gasped, feeling
suddenly very
awake. His stolen kiss sped my heart more than falling off of a
two-story balcony—and I would know. There was such passion, such
feeling in his kiss. Unable to resist, I lifted my arms up and curved
them around his neck, returning the heated kiss.

It was cut far too
short as he was pulled away from me.

“We’ve got it
from here,” came the unmistakable growl of one of the guards. They
all sounded the same to me, sullen and serious.

My arm fell limply
back to the earth, but I attempted to make a protest. “W-wait…”

I was scooped up
into the arms of a guard. I could tell because of the hard metal
plating of his uniform.